Sunday, 7 February 2010

Technicolor’s press release is riddled with the sorts of hyperbole best described as inextricably pretentious. Language like “Art-core” (not hardcore), “opposing acoustic concepts”, and “scientific law”, already say much about a band with a lot to say, but in the completely wrong way. This not at the very least, proves a massive disservice to Dioramics music (if I’m allowed to mention ‘Dioramics music’ without breaking sweat, aligning them with the stars and some sort of theory about the abacus) misleading you every word.

This is Lifeforce Records first 2010 offering. And, whilst the underwhelment doesn’t take long to kick in, it says much for the attitude of the label. That being, a willingness to publish ambitious projects that wriggle far from the conventional. We can only applaud Lifeforce and Dioramic for their efforts, if even the finishing line hasn’t been quite reached. Technicolor’s content shifts between the hardcore and progressive genres. Their guitar riffing is more of the ‘chug’ nature than chord progressions (mind you, both are present). The vocal floats between clean and higher pitched yelps that are reminiscent of Freak Kitchens, Christer Örtefors. You’ll also find a very strong and talented drum performance present, with the bass throbbing taking the back seat. Samples are often thrown in, adding further substance and depth to the tracks, and invariably Dioramic do experiment with various instruments across the board, which help only to mix things up.

With so many ideas flowing around, Technicolor ultimately fails to come the boil on any of its laurels (its progressive nature, its hardcore nature, and its art). What strikes, as most disappointing is the records broken structure, with each track feeling 50% complete, whilst the other half begins or ends in a complete slouch. The complete material lends a hand at demonstrating the potential for this act, but also reinforces that Dioramic’s ideas have no where near been fully realized. It’s artistic ideas overflow genius, but it’s piecing together into one coherent package, is clumsy and ineffective. This is great art, poor execution.